Health

Danida has supported the health sector in Kenya for over 30 years with different interventions and with different levels of intensity. The support has been given either generally to the sector or focused within a geographical area.

Chepngombe Health Centre, Western Kenya

(Foto: Stine Ilum)

Prioritizing Health

Health is prioritised as one of the key sectors in Kenya’s overall development strategy, Vision 2030, but in spite of the high prioritisation of health, Government funding to the sector is inadequate and below the international targets. Government allocation to the sector was 2.6 billion DKK in 2010. In addition, donor funding and user fees contributed to a total input to health of around 6.0 billion DKK which is equivalent to 4.4% of the GDP. An estimated 88% of donor funding is outside Government budget, which raises concerns of sustainability. The fast growing population - around one million per year - will put pressure on future funding of the sector.

The new constitution in Kenya will lead to significant changes in the administration of the health sector. The current two ministries of health will be merged and the responsibility for delivering primarily heath services will be devolved to the new 47 counties. It will be an enormous challenge for the sector to cope with these fundamental changes, but the reforms are at the same time an opportunity.

Following the election in 2002, a new Kenyan Government was formed on promises of strong commitments towards the enhancement of good government, poverty eradication and sustainable development. This led to a shift in Danish development assistance to the health sector, from working mainly outside central government structures to close involvement with the government and a gradual shift from project to programme assistance.

Danida's support to the Kenyan Health Sector

Danida is signatory to the Code of Conduct for the health sector in Kenya, as well as the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda on Action. In the spirit of the declaration, Danida is aligned with government policies and strategies and moves towards a Sector Budget Support Strategy.

The Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) process focusing on improvement of government health service delivery support and systems, planning and budgeting, financial, procurement, and human resources management has taken root and there is a need to continue supporting the process to ensure it is entrenched and institutionalised in the health sector and becomes irreversible.

Danida supports the Kenyan health sector through programmes of each five years duration. The implementation of the second phase of the Health Sector Programme Support (HSPS) ended in December 2011 and implementation of the third phase of the HSPS started 1st January 2012.